Monday, February 22, 2010

Those of us that live in Liberal or NDP ridings have become familiar with a new form of junk mail propaganda. Every two weeks or thereabouts, we are privileged to receive an 8 1/2 by 11 inch folded sheet of paper along with our mail with a Conservative MP as the return addressee. These folded sheets are known in political circles as "10 percenters". For the very few of us that take the time to look through our junk mail, we find that these sheets are actually political propaganda published by the Conservative government. While it is annoying to get repeated deliveries of any type of junk mail, it is REALLY annoying to get junk mail that is being paid for with our tax dollars, especially in light of this fiscal year's estimated $56 billion deficit.

If you are not familiar with "10 percenters", please refer to the following links:

"10 percenters" were originally used by Canadian politicians to contact constituents in various ridings to inform them of Government of Canada programs which may be of interest to them. Since the Harper government has come into power, they have been increasingly using "10 percenters" as a partisan campaign tool. It is estimated that, in 2008 alone, between 30 and 50 million "10 percenters" were sent out in 2008 at a cost to taxpayers of over $10 million. The Conservative and Liberal parties both use "10 percenters", however, the greatest users by far are Conservative MPs

My suggestion is that Canadians save up the "10 percenters" they receive, stick them in an envelope and return them en masse to the Prime Minister's Office. Please remember that you do not have to pay postage when sending mail to the PMO or your (or any) MP.

Our Prime Minister's mailing address is:

Office of the Prime Minister

80 Wellington Street

Ottawa

K1A 0A2

I would also encourage you to contact your MP (and any other MP that cares to respond) and ask that Parliament change the legislation that allows the use of "10 percenters" in any form. I send emails to all MPs that send "10 percenters" to my home asking them questions about the program since they are obviously anxious to communicate with me! In future postings, I will be naming those who have not responded to my email inquiries.

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About Me

I have been an avid follower of the world's political and economic scene since the great gold rush of 1979 - 1980 when it seemed that the world's economic system was on the verge of collapse. I am most concerned about the mounting level of government debt and the lack of political will to solve the problem. Actions need to be taken sooner rather than later when demographic issues will make solutions far more difficult. As a geoscientist, I am also concerned about the world's energy future; as we reach peak cheap oil, we need to find viable long-term solutions to what will ultimately become a supply-demand imbalance.